British Business: Held Back By Its Relationship To Technology For Communication?

I'm asking: does technology offer a 'leveling effect' to business and society by providing ways of removing some of the formality from business communication ? And -if so -can Britain cope with that?

It's certainly hard to be deferential in a text message or SMS, just as Twitter's 140 characters have a way of concentrating the mind on the matter at hand. E-mail, on the other hand provides multiple scope for creative expression, subtleties of tone and intent as well as obfuscation, repetition and delay. And that's before the sender decides to copy in multiple colleagues as recipients.

Research out today claims that business in Britain is being held back by its relationship to technology for communication. Please note this is research offered by a business providing such services, but it is also backed by the London university UCL.

It reveals that over one in five (21%) of British workers surveyed said they would feel uncomfortable texting or instant messaging a senior colleague if they needed urgent help at work. Of those who said they felt uncomfortable, nearly one in three (27%) felt that it would be impolite, nearly half (47%) didn’t feel it was appropriate and 2% alarmingly reported they would feel too ‘scared.'

It's hard to know whether to be amused or deeply concerned, but it rings true. 'Inappropriate' is a very British word that can cover everything from the need for a suit and tie to demonstrate you belong, to a 'gut reaction' word that encapsulates a fear of change.

Britain has "an interesting relationship with technology" says the research. Commissioned by global technology company Ricoh and carried out by YouGov, it examined over 1,000 workers in Britain and their attitudes towards politeness in business contexts.

While a majority (85%) of respondents are comfortable using email to communicate with work colleagues, only half (51%) feel the same way about instant messenger tools against 60% being comfortable with SMS. Social media, on the other hand, is a bit of a non-starter: nearly a third (29%) said they were uncomfortable using it to communicate with their co-workers.

Formula One on stage CBI Annual Conference 2015 #CBI2015 November 9, 2015 London

I met Ricoh's marketing director Chas Moloney at a stimulating annual conference last month held by the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) including panel sessions on 'Disruptive Innovation' in business. Ricoh was a corporate partner, and its lunch session included a presentation on the use of different technologies to communicate within a business.

UCL, which has partnered the report, certainly takes it seriously. “Regular communication is one of the single most important elements in the process of maintaining trusting working relationships....it is clear that British business workers need to break away from social norms, and to start embracing new ways of communicating with colleagues in our digital economy. However, they do need support from business leaders to achieve this change in mind set" said Dr Dimitrios Tsivrikos, consumer and business psychologist, UCL.

Today's research suggests more persuasion is needed when it comes to the use of social media in a business context. The brand communications agency Battenhall does annual reports on how the FTSE 100 uses Twitter and social media which reveal that the vast majority are now active to some extent on Twitter .

But from a personal standpoint I would say the quality of the communication is often wooden. It is a bit like those who moved from pen and ink to write letters to email, but changed nothing else: the means of delivery did not alter the scope of the content. Only with this form of communication, less is more - demanding a substantive change in thinking.